Lee shifted awake as the sun shone in on him and Rosemary. He looked at Rosemary, who was still asleep on his shoulder, and cracked his neck. They had never gone to bed last night – they had talked so late. Carefully, trying not to disturb Rosemary, he looked at his watch. It read a quarter after eight. Rosemary stirred and opened her eyes too. "Good morning," Lee said softly, kissing her foreheard.

"Morning." She responded, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. "Aren't you supposed to be gone?"

"The council meeting's not till ten." Lee said.

"Oh. Okay. I'll make you some breakfast." Rosemary pushed herself off of the couch and walked over to the kitchen. Lee hurried upstairs to change his clothes, and by the time he came back down, delicious smells were wafting through the air. They sat down and had breakfast together, and finally Lee pushed back his chair.

"That was amazing, sweetheart, but I need to get going."

"Thank you." Rosemary smiled. "I hope the council meeting goes well."

"Yeah. Me too."

"I'll be by later to get some statements from everyone for the newspaper," Rosemary stood too.

"Okay. I'll see you then." Lee gave her a quick hug, then turned and left. He started up the car, and drove into town, stopping by his office. He hopped down and hurried up the stairs and inside. Five minutes later, the office was full of people, talking and debating over what was going to happen ahead.

"Settle down and sit." Bill commanded. The room immediately became quiet as Lee sent a thankful glance Bill's way and the men sat down.

"We'd like to discuss Mr. Walden's proposition of buying up a large piece of land on the edge of town. Normally, this would be individual sale, but since it is town land, I thought it would be best to bring it before everyone." Lee explained the situation. "Are there any comments or thoughts?" He noticed Jesse's hand. "Yes, Jesse?"

Jesse stood. "We can't trust Mr. Walden!" He argued. "Why are you buying up all the land, Mr. Walden? What's your plan? Who else have you stolen from?"

"Jesse." Lee said firmly. "No accusations. Mr. Walden, can you explain what you are doing with this land that you're buying?"

"Of course." Mr. Walden stood. "To put it simply, most of the land that I am buying is to promote town growth. The land that I want on the edge of town is for a new office building that I'd like to put up."

"What kind of town growth?" Jesse asked.

"The only kind of growth there is, to bring more people to live here so that this town can grow." Mr. Walden answered smoothly.

Lee cast his glance over the group of men and women. "Yes, Ned?"

"Isn't town growth a good thing? If that's what Mr. Walden wants to do, won't it help all of us?"

"Good point." Bill replied, and Lee nodded.

"Town growth would help everyone," Mr. Walden added. "The merchants would have more business, more businesses would come, which means more jobs, people, and money. Everyone will benefit."

"But at what cost?" Mr. Wolfe asked sharply. "So you and your minions can run the town?"

"No one is talking about anything like that." Lee warned. He noticed Rosemary slipping in through the doo.

"Everyone's thinking it." Jesse returned.

"I want to help this town grow and prosper. What's wrong with that?"

"The problem is that you're the one doing it." Mr. Wolfe said loudly. "I don't trust you."

"Neither do I." Jesse agreed, and nods followed throughout the room.

"You'll agree with me when the money starts rolling in." Mr. Walden pointed out.

"I'll agree when you're in jail and I'm-"

"That's enough." Bill interrupted Jesse sternly. "Since it seems we can't even talk reasonably, why don't we postpone this vote until next week. It'll give everyone time to think about what's been said."

"I agree." Lee spoke. "If you have any questions or concerns, you can talk to me or Mr. Walden before next week. All in favor?"

A resounding wave of "ayes" were heard, and the meeting was adjourned. Rosemary got up to talk to the people at the meeting, and Mr. Walden walked over to Lee and Bill. "Thank you for trying to help me," he said kindly.

"No problem." Lee replied, and Mr. Walden walked out.

"No problem?" Bill questioned sarcastically.

Lee turned to him defensively. "What else was I supposed to do?"

"You were right."

"I sure hope so. This is turning into a big problem."

"How can you let Mr. Walden do this?" Mr. Wolfe asked angrily.

"I'm not letting anyone do anything," Lee replied. "We're just postponing the vote."

"You took his side!" Jesse added.

"Listen, men, I agree with you and I'll be voting against it too. But the way you went about wasn't fair." Lee pointed out.

"I can't believe it." Mr. Wolfe said, and he and Jesse turned to walk out.

As soon as Mr. Walden left the office, Jacob came up behind him. "How was the meeting?"

"Disappointing. There were a few on my side, but not enough."

"Do you have a plan?" Jacob asked as they walked along.

"Of course I have a plan, fool," Mr. Walden snapped. "We just need to find a way to get all those who will vote against me not to show up to the meeting next Wednesday."

"How are we going to do that?" They ducked into Mr. Walden's makeshift office.

"We'll find other things to occupy them." Mr. Walden outlined his idea, and Jacob nodded eagerly.

"I bet I can get some help."

"Wonderful. Do whatever you have to do."

Henry walked towards the Café, but then he turned away at the last second. Part of him wanted to talk to Abigail, but the other part wanted to stay as far away as possible. But he needed help, and he knew that she would give it to him. An internal battle showed across his face as he turned back around and walked slowly up to the door. One more step and he pushed the door open, stepping into the busy atmosphere of the Café. Abigail was bustling around tables, and when she saw Henry, she walked over to him. "Good afternoon, Henry," she said with a smile. "Can I get you anything?"

"A coffee would be great." Henry answered, stalling for time.

"Of course." She pointed to a table in the corner. "You can sit there."

"Thanks." He said, going over to the table and sitting back. She disappeared briefly, but was back in a few seconds to pour piping hot coffee into his cup.

"Anything else?" She asked.

"No…" he began, then changed his mind. "Actually, there is something I need your help with."

"What is it?" She set the coffee pot down and looked seriously at him.

In a few words, he explained the situation. He watched her eyes grow wider as she listened to what he had to say. "So, you've been…" she stopped at his nod. "I see."

"Can you help?"

"I think so." She answered.

"Great. I'll come by tonight then."

"Okay." She nodded, and frowned slightly. "Are you sure that you're doing the right thing, Henry?"

"I really don't know." He said quietly. "I sure hope so."

Later that evening, Henry came back to the Café. He knocked on the door, and Abigail opened it. "Are you ready?" He asked.

"I think so." She replied, grabbing her coat and scarf. She threw it on and then closed the door behind her. They got in Henry's car and drove out to the oil rig.

Henry lit a lantern and they walked silently into the shed. "It's in here." He said, shining the light into the small area.

Boom!
A loud noise woke Allie up.

Boom!
There it was again. She rolled over and sat up, rubbing her eyes sleepily. Then she got out of bed and looked out her window. Outside, she saw a huge orange light in the sky. "Uncle Nathan!" She called, running out of her room. He met her in the hallway. "Did you hear that?" She asked excitedly.

"Yeah. Stay here, I'm going to check it out," He said, heading down the stairs.

"But it's dark – and scary. I-"

A knock on the door interrupted Allie and Nathan ran to open it. It was Elizabeth. "Did you hear that? And see it?" She asked breathlessly.

"I was just leaving." Nathan said.

"We saw it too!" Rosemary exclaimed from outside.

"Probably the whole town did." Lee surmised.

"Don't wait around, let's go!" Rosemary urged them.

"Okay," Nathan jumped into action. "Allie, stay with Little Jack while us adults go to see what's happening. If something happens, I will find a way to let you know."

"I will." Allie promised. She walked over to Elizabeth's and entered the house. It was dark and quiet, so she switched on a lamp and sat.

Boom! There it went again. She ran to the window. The orange light was still there – something had to be wrong. She hugged herself as she watched the window. Hopefully Uncle Nathan hurries up, she thought as she stared out over the forest.

Nathan, Elizabeth, Rosemary, and Lee hurried to the car, and Lee drove as fast as he could towards the orange light. Lee halted the car in a safe place, and they ran towards the group standing in the clearing. Before them all were Henry and Abigail, both covered in soot, and a strong orange light was emanating from an oddly shaped box-like object. "What's going on?" Nathan asked as he entered the group.

"A test gone wrong." Henry answered.

Nathan strode forward to the thing. "What is this?" He asked, looking it over confusedly.

"You weren't supposed to know," Henry began.

"It's an invention." Abigail said with a smile.

"So that was the loud noise?" Lee asked, coming up beside Nathan.

"Yep." Henry turned back to the machine. "It is a type of robbery alarm. Wires are hooked up to it, and if they are moved, then the booming starts and the orange light comes on. Other things will happen too, but I haven't tested those yet."

"So you were testing it?" Nathan still looked confused. "In the middle of the night?" He asked wearily.

"It took a while to get started." Abigail defended.

The group of people had already started dispersing, and Rosemary had more than enough notes to write an article in the morning, but Nathan wasn't finished. "What is this for?" He asked Henry.

"I…can't say." Henry replied slowly.

"Let me guess. It's actually not an alarm."

"No, it's not."

Nathan felt like shaking the man. "Henry, what have you gotten yourself – and Abigail – into?"

"I'd rather tell you in private."

"Alright. Fine. Meet me at the jail at eight tomorrow morning, and we can talk then." Nathan said as he tried to catch a yawn. Henry just nodded. Nathan briefly shook his head, then turned and walked back to the car.

"Did Henry tell you what that was really for?" Elizabeth asked.

"No, but he will tomorrow." Nathan answered.

"What is he doing? Was he trying to disturb the whole town?" Rosemary asked loudly.

"I don't know," Nathan sighed slightly. "I'll figure it out later."

When they got back to the rowhouses, they found Allie asleep on the couch. Elizabeth gently covered her with a blanket. "Just leave her here," she said quietly. "You don't need to wake her up again."

"Alright." Nathan yawned. "See you in the morning."

"You too." Elizabeth replied.

Nathan turned and left, closing the door behind him. He walked the couple of steps to his rowhouse, then stumbled up the stairs right into his waiting bed and fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, all that could be talked about in town was Henry's "invention". Whispers of what it could be were heard everywhere, and the rumors kept getting bigger and bigger with each round of gossip. Before seven-thirty, there wasn't a soul in town who didn't know about it. "I heard that it's a top-secret government project," Molly confessed to Florence at the mercantile.

"Really?" Florence raised her eyebrows. "Because I heard that Henry was making a present for Abigail and that's why she was there."

"You two really should know better," Bill commented as he walked by them.

"Know better than what?" Florence turned, challenging him.

"Then gossiping." Bill replied snidely, then left.

Florence and Molly turned to each other, both shocked. "It wasn't gossip," Molly decided. "We were just repeating what we heard other people say."

"Exactly." Florence nodded quickly. "Say," she dropped her voice. "Did you hear that Abigail was forced to go with Henry last night?"

"No, I didn't." Molly replied, just as quietly. "Why would she do such a thing?"

"Nathan!" Abigail called as Nathan walked quickly past her.

He stopped and turned to her. "What is it?"

"Are you going to talk to Henry?"

"He's supposed to meet me at the jail in fifteen minutes."

"Good." She walked down the steps of the Café. "I'm coming too."

"You are?" He raised an eyebrow. "It's not really any of your business."

"Unfortunately, it is now," she replied.

"Okay." He continued walking down the street. As he neared the jail, he saw Wyman Walden talking on the boardwalk with a young man that he didn't recognize. Nathan made a mental note to talk to that young man later. Anyone who was spending time with Mr. Walden was someone to watch. "After you," he said, opening the door of the jail for Abigail.

"Thank you." She replied.

They were inside for a couple seconds before Henry came. "What are you doing here?" He asked Abigail as soon as he was inside.

"It's my business now too, and I want to hear the full explanation." She explained.

"I'm ready." Nathan said, sitting down in his chair. "And it'd better be good."

Henry cleared his throat, and began…